1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with three-dimensional decorated articles which can be rapidly and economically produced as unique articles or in short-run situations. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such articles, as well as blanks used in the production thereof and methods of production, wherein an image-imprinted sheet of stock is applied to a light-transmitting substrate so that the image appears through the substrate, and bend areas are formed by laser ablation of the stock without disturbing the image appearing through the substrate. The substrate is then heated along the bend areas and formed into a three-dimensional article.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Decorated three-dimensional articles such as holders for note cubes have been provided in the past. These are generally formed of synthetic resin material and include a base with upstanding attached sidewalls defining an enclosure for receiving the note cubes. It has also been known to provide advertising material or other images of the exterior faces of the sidewalls. Prior production methods used to fabricate these three-dimensional articles have dictated that only large runs are cost effective. That is, one-off unique or short-run products simply cannot be produced economically by these prior methods.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,402,878 and 6,395,125 describe processes of creation of picture frames having photographs or other picture art surrounding a picture-receiving area. In the process, the border art and registration marks are printed on sheet material such as paper and a laser is used to cut around the artwork. The sheet material is then attached to a transparent polymer sheet and laser cut along a marked path. The transparent polymer sheet is then heated and shaped to form a backing for the picture frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,045 describes a method for producing flat articles such as name badges or luggage tags. In this method, a laminated sheet is created by face-mounting of a color graphic print to an acrylic sheet using optically clear adhesive. The laminated sheet is then divided into discrete items.
Other representative graphic art processes are described in the following references: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,371,575; 5,935,355; 6,505,738; 6,656,309; 6,780,273; 6,875,302; US Published Patent Applications Nos. 2004/0200182; 2007/0266646; Foreign Patent Publications Nos. EP 302840; JP 62178324; WO 2004039607; WO 8911681; WO 9625332 and Web-Published Literature: Other Internet References are Block Holders from Silent Kite Limited, Promotional Memo Holders, Promotional Merchandising Sourcing, and Promotional Printed Note Cubes in a Box.